Title 20 — Public Health and Welfare

(a) No person shall furnish, operate, maintain, conduct, advertise, or in any way engage in or profess to engage in the business of providing emergency transport of patients upon the streets and highways of Arkansas unless that person holds a valid ambulance service license or pr…

(a) (1) An application for the issuance or renewal of an ambulance service license or a provisional ambulance service license shall be made on forms provided by the Department of Health and shall be accompanied by any fee as required by law or by rules promulgated by the State Bo…

(a) (1) (A) A licensee under this subchapter may transport any patient to the care facility of the patient's choice subject to service area limitations, applicable federal law, and the licensee's local protocol.(B) If the patient is unable to make a choice and if the attending ph…

(a) An ambulance service shall not in any way advertise to the general public the service areas, skills, procedures, or personnel certification levels which it cannot provide on every emergency request, twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. (b) The service area sha…

Three (3) formal citations during the license term for failure to comply with this subchapter and any rules promulgated by the State Board of Health in regard to ambulance services shall result in revocation of the ambulance service license.

In mass casualty incidents, which overwhelm the region's available resources, the Department of Health shall promulgate rules which establish procedures for the transportation of patients by ambulances.

(a) This section shall be known as the “Emergency Medical Services Revolving Fund Act”. (b) There is established on the books of the Treasurer of State, the Auditor of State, and the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State a fund to be designated the “Emergency Medical Services Revolvi…

(a) It is unlawful for any person to practice or profess to be emergency medical services personnel or to use the initials EMT, Advanced EMT, Paramedic, EMS-Instructor, EMS Instructor Trainer, or any other letters, words, abbreviations, or insignia indicating that he or she is em…

(a) Grant requests for funds from the EMS Enhancement Revolving Fund shall be reviewed by the Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee and recommendations for recipients of grant funds made to the Department of Health. (b) (1) The grant funds shall be evenly divided between …

A.C.A. § 20-13-104Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

A.C.A. § 20-13-105Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) As used in this section, “first responders” means state and local law enforcement personnel, fire department personnel, and emergency medical personnel who will be deployed to bioterrorism attacks, terrorist attacks, catastrophic or natural disasters, and emergencies. (b) The…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Vincent Parks Law”. (b) As used in this section:(1) “Cadet” means a law enforcement cadet, a firefighter cadet or trainee, or a trainee to be an uniformed employee for the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission;(2) “Instru…

(a) As used in this section:(1) (A) “Alternative destination” means a lower-acuity facility that provides medical services, including without limitation:(i) A federally qualified health center;(ii) An urgent care center;(iii) A physician office or medical clinic, as selected by t…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Applicant” means any individual seeking Arkansas emergency medical services personnel licensure or relicensure;(2) “Bureau” means the Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police;(3) “Care” means treatment, services, assistanc…

(a) (1) Any applicant applying for initial licensure shall complete a criminal history check form and shall request the Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police to conduct a state and national criminal history check on the applicant.(2) The applicant shall p…

A.C.A. § 20-13-1103Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) A request for a state and national criminal history check on a person shall include a completed form as required by the Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police and by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (b) The criminal history check shall conform to t…

The Department of Health shall maintain on file for a period of three (3) years, subject to inspection by the Arkansas Crime Information Center or the Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police, a copy of each criminal history check completed by all applicants…

(a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (d)(1) of this section, the Department of Health shall issue a determination that a person is disqualified from certification or recertification if the person has been found guilty of or has pleaded guilty or nolo contendere in a state co…

(a) A person may challenge the completeness or accuracy of criminal history information pursuant to § 12-12-1013. (b) The Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee shall follow the established procedures for applicants to challenge determinations in accordance with the Arkans…

The Department of Health maintains the right to conduct additional criminal history checks at the cost of the department on applicants or Arkansas-licensed emergency medical services personnel under investigation for violation of current emergency medical services laws or rules.

(a) The Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police shall maintain an index of the results of each applicant's criminal history check. (b) The Department of Health shall develop forms that are approved by the bureau to be used for criminal history checks conduc…

(a) If an applicant fails or refuses to cooperate in obtaining criminal history checks, such circumstances shall be grounds to deny or revoke the applicant's certification. (b) Any applicant failing to comply with this subchapter shall be denied certification or recertification u…

Arkansas-licensed emergency medical services personnel shall notify the Department of Health of any conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to any offenses listed in § 20-13-1106(a) within ten (10) calendar days after the conviction or guilty plea or plea of nolo conte…

The Arkansas Crime Information Center, the Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police, and the Department of Health shall cooperate to prepare forms and promulgate consistent rules as necessary to implement this subchapter.

(a) All criminal history checks obtained under this subchapter are confidential and are restricted to the exclusive use of the Arkansas Crime Information Center, the Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police, the Department of Health, and the person who is th…

Individuals are immune from suit or liability for damages for acts or omissions other than malicious acts or omissions occurring in the performance of duties imposed by this subchapter.

(1) This subchapter shall not apply to persons who render care subject to professional licenses obtained pursuant to:(1) Section 17-27-101 et seq., regarding licensed professional counselors;(2) The Social Work Licensing Act, § 17-103-101 et seq., regarding social workers;(3) The…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Bioterrorism” means the intentional use of any microorganism, virus, infectious substance, or biological product that may be engineered as a result of biotechnology or any naturally occurring or bioengineered component of any microorganism, vir…

(a) The Department of Health shall offer a vaccination program for first responders who may be exposed to infectious diseases while deployed to disaster locations. (b) Participation in the vaccination program shall be voluntary by the first responders, except for first responders…

This subchapter may be cited as the “Public Access to Automated External Defibrillation Act”.

The General Assembly finds that early defibrillation can sustain the life of and temporarily stabilize a person in cardiac arrest, thus helping to preserve the Arkansas family. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the public have access to automated external defibrillato…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Automated external defibrillator” means a device that:(A) Is used to administer an electric shock through the chest wall to the heart;(B) Has built-in computers within the device to assess the patient's heart rhythm, judge whether defibrillatio…

(a) In order to ensure the public health and safety, a person or entity that acquires an automated external defibrillator shall ensure that:(1) Expected automated external defibrillator users complete appropriate knowledge and skills courses at least one (1) time every two (2) ye…

(a) Any person or entity that in good faith and without compensation renders emergency care or treatment by the use of an automated external defibrillator is immune from civil liability for any personal injury as a result of the care or treatment or as a result of any act or fail…

(a) As used in this section, “health spa” means any person, firm, corporation, organization, club, or association engaged in the sale of:(1) Memberships in a program of physical exercise that includes the use of one (1) or more sauna, whirlpool, weightlifting room, massage, steam…

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) One (1) of every six (6) women in the United States will be the victim of a sexual assault;(2) Forty-four percent (44%) of the victims of a sexual assault are under eighteen (18) years of age, and eighty percent (80%) of the victims of a se…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) (A) “Emergency contraception” means a drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration that prevents pregnancy after sexual intercourse, including without limitation oral contraceptive pills.(B) “Emergency contraception” does not …

(a) All healthcare facilities that are licensed in this state and provide emergency care to sexual assault survivors shall amend their evidence-collection protocols for the treatment of sexual assault survivors to include informing the survivor in a timely manner of the availabil…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Airborne or blood-borne disease” means a potentially life-threatening disease, including without limitation:(A) Tuberculosis;(B) Hepatitis C; and(C) Hepatitis B;(2) “Emergency response worker” means:(A) Paramedics;(B) Emergency response employe…

(a) (1) Consent is not required for a healthcare provider or healthcare facility to test an individual for an airborne or blood-borne disease when a healthcare provider, an employee of a healthcare facility, or an emergency response worker has a type of contact with an individual…

(1) As used in this subchapter, “community paramedic” means an individual who:(1) Is licensed as a paramedic;(2) Meets the requirements for additional licensure as a community paramedic under this subchapter; and(3) Provides services to:(A) Discharged inpatients who have been scr…

(a) To be eligible for licensure by the Department of Health as a community paramedic, an individual shall:(1) Be currently licensed as a paramedic;(2) Have two (2) years of full-time service as a paramedic;(3) Be actively employed by a licensed paramedic ambulance service; and(4…

(a) The State Board of Health shall adopt rules to implement this subchapter. (b) The rules shall consider quality assurance and adequate data collection to evaluate the utilization and effectiveness of the community paramedic licensure program.

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Joshua Ashley-Pauley Act”.

(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) In the United States, drug overdose death rates more than tripled since 1990;(2) Every day in the United States, one hundred twenty (120) people die as a result of a drug overdose while another six thousand seven hundred forty-eight (6,748)…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Drug overdose” means an acute condition resulting from, or that a reasonable person would believe to be resulting from, the consumption or use of alcohol, a controlled substance, or dangerous drug or a combination of alcohol, controlled substan…

(a) A person shall not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for possession of a controlled substance in violation of § 5-64-419 if the evidence for the arrest, charge, or prosecution of the possession of a controlled substance in violation of § 5-64-419 resulted solely from seekin…

(1) This subchapter does not limit:(1) The admissibility of any evidence:(A) In connection with the investigation or prosecution of a crime with regard to a person who does not meet the requirements of § 20-13-1704; or(B) With regard to other crimes committed by a person who meet…